Marlies Stun Moose

Game Recap:

Fresh off an 8-1 loss, the Marlies were hungry for a statement win as they travelled to Winnipeg for the first time this season. Heading into tonight’s contest, the Marlies had been struggling offensively with only six goals in their previous four games. That was not the case tonight as the boys in blue came out flying with a convincing 7-2 win on the road.

Penalties proved costly to the Moose in the opening frame as the Marlies converted on two of their three power play opportunities. Rasmus Sandin started things off at 12:16 of the opening frame, firing a shot from the point that found its way past Eric Comrie. Sam Gagner and Jeremy Bracco assisted on Sandin’s fifth of the season. Five minutes later at 17:20, Bracco and Chris Mueller connected on a give and go, and found Trevor Moore who was all alone in front of the Manitoba net. Moore buried his 13th of the season to make it 2-0. The Marlies outshot the Moose 19-7 in the opening frame and held a two goal cushion heading into the first intermission.

Similar to the opening minutes of the game, the Marlies came out flying in the second and continued to apply pressure. It paid off just 48 seconds into the middle frame as Adam Brooks positioned himself right in front of Comrie and tapped home his fourth of the season to put the Marlies up 3-0. Calle Rosen and Mason Marchment assists on Brooks’ fourth of the season. Three minutes into the frame, the home team solved Eamon McAdam as Michael Spacek floated a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle into the back of the net. The Marlies responded just past the halfway mark of the game as Marchment and Josh Jooris converted on a two-on-one to restore their three-goal lead. Another penalty cost the Marlies as the Moose added a power play goal at 13:29 to bring themselves back within two. The Marlies outshot the Moose 14-11 in the second and held a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Marlies added three unanswered goals in the final frame, the first from Bracco who toe-dragged around Comrie at 5:17 to make it 5-2. Dmytro Timashov and Mueller assisted on the goal. Late in the frame, Adam Brooks sent Moore on a partial breakaway where he buried his second of the night to make it 6-2. Sandin added the extra assist on the goal. Finally, Bracco sealed the 7-2 win with his second of the night, again waiting out Comrie and beating him blocker side.

The Marlies and Moose will square off again tomorrow for a 7:00 puck drop at Bell MTS Place.

Rasmus Sandin scored on the power play at 12:16 of the first period and later added the secondary assist on Moore third period goals. Sandin has 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 17 games this season. He is second in the AHL for rookie defencemen in goals (5) and leads all Marlies defence.

Trevor Moore scored on the power play at 17:20 of the first period and at 18:16 of the third period. Moore leads the Marlies in goals and has recorded 19 points (14 goals, 5 assists) in 23 games this season.

Adam Brooks scored the game-winning goal 48 seconds into the second period and later added the primary assist on Moore’s third period goal. Brooks has 0 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games this season.

Josh Jooris scored at 11:49 of the second period. Jooris has seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) through 26 games this season.

Jeremy Bracco scored at 5:17 and at 18:43 of the third period. He earlier registered the secondary assist on Sandin’s power play goal and the primary assist on Moore’s power play goal. Bracco has 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in his last eight games. This is his second game of the season where he has recorded four points.

Sam Gagner recorded the primary assist on Sandin’s first period power play goal. Gagner has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in his last 10 games players with the Marlies.

Chris Mueller had the secondary assists on Moore’s first period power play goal and Bracco’s third period goal. Mueller has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in his last eight games. Mueller has registered 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) on the power play.

Calle Rosen recorded the primary assist on Brooks’ second period goal and the secondary assist on Jooris’ second period goal. Rosen leads the AHL for defencemen in assists (19).

Mason Marchment registered the secondary assist on Brooks’ second period goal and the primary assist on Jooris’ second period goal. Marchment has 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists) through 21 games this season.

Dmytro Timashov had the primary assist on Bracco’s third period goal.

Carl Grundstrom recorded the primary assist on Bracco’s third period goal. Grundstrom has 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games this season.

Sam Jardine registered the secondary assist on Bracco’s third period goal.

Eamon McAdam stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced. McAdam is now 6-2-2-1 on the season with a .889 Save Percentage and a 3.06 Goals Against Average.

NOTABLES

Toronto went 6-for-8 on the penalty kill and 2-for-5 on the power play.

Toronto had a 45-28 edge in shots in all situations.

Trevor Moore led the Marlies with nine shots on goal.

The Marlies are 1-0-0-0 against Pacific Division opponents and are 1-0-0-0 against the Manitoba Moose this season.

REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

Goals: T. Moore (14)

Assists: C. Rosen (19)

Points: C. Mueller (26)

PPG: S. Gagner, T. Moore (4)

Shots: T. Moore (78)

+/-: C. Grundstrom (+8)

PIMS: S. Oleksy (36)

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE

On tonight’s win in response to the loss on Wednesday night:
It’s big. We’re trying to build confidence as a team and trying to build good habits, all those types of things. To get the first period that we had today was very good and then I thought parts of the second period, we gave it back a little bit, took some penalties, got in penalty trouble. But then we challenged our group to respond well in the third period in terms of taking care of the lead. A lot of really good things from our team today and it should help our confidence going forward but of course, we’re going to be challenged by a team that’s going to want to push right back tomorrow so we’ll have to be ready.

On Jeremy Bracco’s performance:
I thought he looked very comfortable and very poised with the puck, especially in that third period. When the game kind of settles down a little bit and there’s a little more time and space, he’s a player that thrives in that type of an environment. He showed that today with a lot of skill. It’s good to see. Talking about confidence as a team but confidence for our offensive players is a big thing as well and Jeremy is one of those guys. He’s feeling it a little bit and that’s a good sign for him and our team.

Game Preview:

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday night, the Marlies (10-10-3-2) return to action tonight for a cross-conference match-up against the Manitoba Moose (11-12-2-0). After six straight games at home, the Marlies will be tested on the road when they face-off against the Moose in back-to-back games in Winnipeg Friday and Saturday.

This marks the first meeting between these two teams this season, and they are pretty evenly matched heading into tonight’s contest. The Marlies sit 12th in the Eastern Conference with 25 points, while the Moose sit 11th in the Western Conference with 24 points. Although the Marlies and Moose split their four-game series with two wins apiece last season, the Marlies have traditionally been the stronger team, posting a 16-3-1-0 record against the Moose over the past five years.

With six goals in their last four games, the Marlies will look to leading scorer Chris Mueller (11 G, 13 A) to ignite some offense as they aim to get back in the win column. With four points in his last three games, Jeremy Bracco will also be a player to watch in tonight’s contest.

Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM and fans can catch all the action on AHLTV or on the AHL Facebook Page as it’s the free Facebook Game of the Week.